Hyderabad: No doctor at Sainikpuri Basti Dawakhana

Sainikpuri: Locals visiting the Basti Dawakhana in Hastinapuri colony in Sainikpuri are returning disappointed as there is no doctor for the past 20 days. The biggest beneficiaries of Basti Dawakhana are the residents of Sainikpuri area including Valluvar Nagar.

Due to the absence of a doctor, patients are forced to visit the nearby private clinic or any other government hospital. As far as medicines are concerned, there is no dearth but are unused due with no prescribtion. The medicines are provided by Telangana State Medical Services & Infrastructure Development Corporation (TSMSIDC).

According to the staff, in the absence of doctors, the patients were being taken care by the head nurse, and any serious cases the patients were referred to private and other government hospitals. On an average more than 60 people are being treated in a day for general treatments like fever, cold and cough. Currently, there are six staff members including one head nurse and one pharmacist.

On the condition of anonymity, a staff member at the Basti Dawakhana, said, "The doctor has been on a leave for more than the 20 days. Since the head nurse was also on a leave on Saturday, we had to take care of the patients visiting the clinic. We are trying our level best to provide treatment and we are only handling cases of viral infections, cold, throat infection and vaccination to children. If any critical and emergency cases come up, we are asking them to go to other centers or clinics."

Sudha, a resident of Hastinapuri colony said, "My mother-in-law has been sick for the past several days. With no doctor at the Basti Dawakhana, I need to take her to a private physician."